Thursday on the Daly Dose, we recap Game 3 of the NBA Finals as the Golden State Warriors take a commanding lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers. What is the biggest difference between these two teams in crunch time?

We also take a look at a few of the players that are still unsigned in NFL Free agency. Will we see any of them get picked up soon?

Lastly, we look a little closer at a few sports media overreactions of the week. Did the referees cost the Cleveland Cavaliers a game in the Finals? Should the Washington Capitals take it easy in Game 5 so they can win the Stanley Cup at home?

It is Friday, and we recap a wild Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors hold on for a win thanks to a big overtime period and some missed opportunities by the Cavs!

We take a look at a state that is taking advantage of the new sports gambling laws, and we preview the weekend in sports! We have NBA, MLB, NHL NASCAR, and some college sports to keep an eye on ove the next two days.

Finally, this week on our Daly Dose Top 5, we are all aware of some of the great players in NBA history that never won a title. But today, we take a look at some of the other players that may not have been as good, but DID win a championship, that just might make you say “He won a ring???”

Thursday on the Daly Dose, we look at some breaking news, including a bizarre story coming out of the NBA.

Then, we preview the 2018 NBA Finals. What can we expect from the fourth consecutive matchup between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors? We have a few ideas as to what we might see, and a few predictions for who will come out on top.

Finally, we discuss a few of the more popular sports media overreactions of the week. Did the Eastern Conference Finals prove LeBron James all time status? Is Kyrie Irving checking out in Boston? And are we going to see NFL players sit out the season on protest of new rules?

Cleveland Cavaliers shooting guard J.R. Smith has never met a shot…or apparently a tweet that he doesn’t like. Following the Cavaliers loss to the Golden State Warriors in Game 3 last week, Smith tweeted out “Cavs in 7.” However, he claims his twitter account was hacked, and that he never actually sent that message.

“I’m smarter than that.” stated Smith. That revelation was actually met with some disappointment, as many considered the prediction to be proof of the faith he still had in his teammates to rally, and win four games in a row.

On Monday night, the Warriors wrapped up their second title in three seasons with a convincing 129-120 victory over the Cavaliers to complete the best-of-seven series.

As Warriors forward Kevin Durant received his Finals MVP award, and the Warriors celebrated their title, Smith’s twitter flashed again. This time it stated “Cavs in 8.” You really can’t blame Smith for the Game 5 loss. He went 9 for 11 from the field, shooting 7 for 8 from three-point range. You can, however, understand why he would be so confused after watching his defense on Steph Curry for much of the series. Curry averaged 29 points, and nearly 10 assists for the series.

The 2015 NBA Draft begins on Thursday night in Brooklyn, New York. Where will the top players end up? Who will your favorite team select? Check out the 2015 NBA Daly Dose Mockery Draft and find out.

Team

Outlook

Pick

1. Minnesota Timberwolves

The Timberwolves feel like they have a nice young nucleus with Ricky Rubio and Andrew Wiggins. Karl-Anthony Towns gives them a third solid player that will leave as soon as his rookie contract runs out.

Karl-Anthony Towns, 7-0, PF/C, Kentucky

2. Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers need help everywhere, and Kobe Bryant needs another big man to yell at, so this is a good pick for everyone involved. Well… except for Jahlil Okafor who will be mentally crushed by January.

Jahlil Okafor, 6-11, C, Duke

3. Philadelphia 76ers

Philadelphia has selected 6-11 Nerlens Noel, 7-0 Joel Embiid, and 6-10 Dario Saric in the past two drafts so they should be set in the frontcourt. Now they just need some guards. Besides, it isn’t like one of those big guys is going to hurt themselves just sitting on the bench.

Willie Cauley-Stein, 7-0, C, Kentucky

4. New York Knicks

The Knicks were terrible defensively. And offensively. And in the front office. And in the locker room. Carmelo Anthony is unreliable and temperamental. The Knicks could really use a point guard to run the structured triangle offense that Phil Jackson wants. Emmanuel Mudiay played professionally in China where he turned it over constantly and shot poorly. He should be a perfect fit.

Emmanuel Mudiay, 6-5, PG, USA

5. Orlando Magic

Scott Skiles was recently hired to coach the Magic and he has a track record of being a no-nonsense disciplinarian. So it is probably best if the Magic drafts someone who will have a language barrier for Skiles’ hot tempered rants.

Mario Hezonja, 6-8, SG, Croatia

6. Sacramento Kings

Sacramento hasn’t had a good point guard since Mike Bibby back when NBA officials orchestrated a playoff win for the Lakers over the Kings. That could never happen now that the NBA has gotten rid of shady characters like Tim Donaghy and now only employ high character refs like Joey Crawford.

D’Angelo Russell, 6-4, PG Ohio State

7. Denver Nuggets

With Justise Winslow on the board the Nuggets would have to be the stupidest franchise in professional sports to let a player with his toughness and versatility slip by.

Kristaps Porzingis, 7-0, PF, Latvia

8. Detroit Pistons

The Pistons get sweet revenge on Denver for that whole Darko Milicic/Carmelo Anthony thing. Who actually won that encounter anyways?

Justise Winslow, 6-6, SF, Duke

9. Charlotte Hornets

You are going to hear experts say the Hornets should select 7’0” Myles Turner out of Texas but every time Hornets owner Michael Jordan sees him he inexplicably screams out “Kwame Brown!”

Devin Booker, 6-6, SG, Kentucky

10. Miami Heat

Pat Riley knows that Dwayne Wade and Luol Deng are in the last year of their contracts and if the Heat are going to have any chance of getting LeBron James back again they need to show some improvement immediately.

Stanley Johnson, 6-7, SF, Arizona

11. Indiana Pacers

Cameron Payne has been compared to George Hill. We aren’t really sure if that is a compliment or not but the Pacers have always had a soft spot for George Hill. So knock yourselves out.

Cameron Payne, 6-2, PG, Murray State

12. Utah Jazz

Frank Kaminsky is a white guy that can give the Jazz some depth up front. He’s white and has a number of low post moves. He also has the ability to stretch the defense with his long range shooting and he’s white. Plus he’s white.

Frank Kaminsky, 7-0, C, Wisconsin

13. Phoenix Suns

Turner is a kid that brings a ton of athleticism so this pick makes sense. Plus he has a history of injuries and the Suns seem to collect those types.

Myles Turner, 7-0, C, Texas

14. Oklahoma City Thunder

Kelly Oubre is an athletic player who should bring some much needed defensive ability to the Thunder but will need to develop offensively…which means he is another player for Russell Westbrook not to pass to.

Kelly Oubre, 6-7, SF, Kansas

15. Atlanta Hawks

Bobby Portis is an unselfish player and can do a little bit of everything. Atlanta loves those types. We saw how well that worked out for them in the playoffs.

Bobby Portis, 6-10, PF, Arkansas

16. Boston Celtics

The Celtics have a number of holes to fill on their roster and “white guy for the locals to cheer for” might be the biggest hole of all. Look for Boston to fill that glaring need here.

Sam Dekker, 6-9, SF, Wisconsin

17. Milwaukee Bucks

Montrezl Harrell is an explosive athlete who sometimes struggles to focus and gets that vacant look in his eyes. Not unlike the creepy eyes of the new Milwaukee Bucks logo. Sounds like a perfect match to me.

Montrezl Harrell, 6-8, PF, Louisville

18. Houston Rockets

The Houston Rockets could use some youth at the point guard position after watching Jason Terry creak around against Golden State in the playoffs. Plus, Texas is a conservative state and Tyus Jones looks like the black version of Adam Carolla. Win/win.

Tyus Jones, 6-5, PG, Notre Dame

19. Washington Wizards

Washington needs a young power forward that can rebound and pass since Nene will be turning 33 in the fall. Looney is a monster on the boards and probably won’t complain to the officials nearly as much when he misses layups.

Kevon Looney, 6-9, SF, UCLA

20. Toronto Raptors

Amir Johnson, Tyler Hansborough, and Chuck Hayes will all be on the market for new contracts. So Lyles could fill a need in the Raptors frontcourt. Can he play? No one knows because we barely saw him at all last year. But he went to Kentucky. And that is all you need to know. So stop asking.

Trey Lyles, 6-10, PF, Kentucky

21. Dallas Mavericks

Odd that the Mavericks would select a point guard with this pick considering the booming success that Rajon Rondo was but I am going to go out on a limb here and say they nab Grant who could be the best PG in the draft.

Jerian Grant, 6-5, PG, Notre Dame

22. Chicago Bulls

The Bulls struggled to score 100 points last season in warm-ups let alone in a real game. Jimmy Butler is a free agent and the Bulls need some insurance. Vaughn can shoot it and could even play some backup PG just in case Derrick Rose were to miss one or maybe even two games at some point due to unforeseen circumstances.

Rashad Vaughn, 6-5, SG, UNLV

23. Portland Trailblazers

LaMarcus Aldridge, Robin Lopez, Arron Afflalo, and Wes Matthews will most likely all become free agents this summer. Hollis-Jefferson can be a great defender in this league which is good because he might be playing one on five. Of course, he can’t shoot so the Blazers offense will probably struggle a little bit.

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, 6-7, SF, Arizona

24. Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cavaliers made it to the Finals but struggled to score when they had to. RJ Hunter would give them a long distance threat ala JR Smith but…you know…without all the crazy.

RJ Hunter, 6-5, SG, Georgia State

25. Memphis Grizzlies

Memphis needs some 3 point production. The Grizzlies finished 29th in the NBA in 3’s made per game with a paltry 5.2. Steph Curry could punt in 3 point shots at a better rate than that.

Justin Anderson, 6-6, SF, Virginia

26. San Antonio Spurs

We all know that Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich loves smart players. Anthony Brown is a Stanford nerd that will be happy to dress up like a wizard and play Dungeons and Dragons with Tim Duncan.

Anthony Brown, 6-7, SF, Stanford

27. Los Angeles Lakers

Jeremy Lin’s contract is due to expire this summer so the Lakers will need to look for a point guard here. And you know what? Even if his contract wasn’t expiring it would make sense to look for a better point guard.

Delon Wright, 6-5, PG, Utah

28. Boston Celtics

“You had me at ‘Mc’.” –Celtics GM Danny Ainge

Chris McCullough, 6-9, PF, Syracuse

29. Brooklyn Nets

Point guards Deron Williams and Jarrett Jack are both over 30 now which doesn’t really sound that old. Until you see them play every night and they actually make Paul Pierce look like a teenager by comparison.

Terry Rozier, 6-2, PG, Louisville

30. Golden State Warriors

David Lee looks to be gone and Marreesse Speights may still be on a post championship food bender so Golden State needs a big man. The Warriors are hoping Andrew Bogut can teach Martin to complain about obvious fouls while contributing absolutely nothing at the offensive end. Hey, it worked last year!

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